Re: It's raining American artisanal cheeses

It's not about being a "foodie," it's about the fact that this is has been the way people have been making cheese for fucking centuries and this is absolutely ridiculous. Much like the recent law in CA about sushi chefs being forced to use gloves now.

Re: It's raining American artisanal cheeses

Something's going on here but I'm not so sure it's what you think it is.

Dozens are articles are springing up right now but they're all quoting each other. The only thing somewhat authoritative any of them is mention of this statement by "FDA representative Monica Metz", but googling her just brings up the articles again, nothing from an actual press release. The articles only suggest that this COULD potentially fall under the Food Safety Modernization Act but it doesn't explicitly say this isn't allowed, it's being interpreted by Monica, who's done nothing but (allegedly) made some statement.

Nothing's necessarily banned yet.

The right-wing anti-Obama's are loving this so much and pouncing on it so quickly that it makes it all seem a bit suspicious.

Re: It's raining American artisanal cheeses

The FDA does not have a new policy banning the use of wooden shelves in cheese-making, nor is there any FSMA requirement in effect that addresses this issue. Moreover, the FDA has not taken any enforcement action based solely on the use of wooden shelves.

In the interest of public health, the FDA’s current regulations state that utensils and other surfaces that contact food must be "adequately cleanable" and properly maintained. Historically, the FDA has expressed concern about whether wood meets this requirement and has noted these concerns in inspectional findings. FDA is always open to evidence that shows that wood can be safely used for specific purposes, such as aging cheese.

The FDA will engage with the artisanal cheese-making community to determine whether certain types of cheeses can safely be made by aging them on wooden shelving.